The 37-year-old St. Paul man who locked up traffic for six hours Tuesday on the Interstate 35E bridge over the Mississippi River was a level-one sex offender who had just reported suicidal thoughts to his parole officer, the Pioneer Press reports. He fled Eagan police when they came to check on him and ultimately had a standoff on the bridge with police that ended with officers taking him into custody.

An Anoka mother and her teenage daughter managed to swim to safety before their car was submerged by flood waters Tuesday morning. Officers responded to nine incidents that required pulling people from submerged vehicles, Anoka police said. Most streets filled up quickly due to fallen leaves blocking storm drains.